Connector



NOV. 12, i957 H. 1. PODELL ETAL CONNECTOR Filed March 7, 1956 fm mm 2,813,174 Patented Nov. 12, 1957 CONNECTOR Howard I. Podell, Mamaroneck, and.Morris Podell, New York, N. Y., assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Application March 7, 1956, Serial No. 570,197 Claims. (Cl. 20G-133) The present invention relates to electrical connectors and more particularly to connectors of the fused type in those particular applications where quick and facile disconnection of the fuse is desired, such as in fuseholders of the panel mounted turret type.

The invention relates to a structure which is designed to receive, encase, and support an inclosed electrical fuse.

One object of our invention is to provide a fuseholder 0r connector so designed as to have minimum holding friction and at the same time provide maximum electrical and/or thermal contact. In fuseholders of the panel mounted turret type such maximum electrical and thermal conductivity is both desired and necessary.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fuseholder so designed to permit easy withdrawal of the fuse for replacement purposes wherein the electrical contact Will not restrain or actually prevent such withdrawal.

At the present time fuseholders of the panel mounted turret type are so designed that the fuse is gripped at one end by a contact which serves both as an electrical contact to the fuse, once inserted into the fuseholder, and as a mechanical grip to hold the fuse within the fuseholder. Since upon replacement, the fuse must be withdrawn from this grip, the amount of force available to Withdraw the fuse from the bottom or forward internal Contact is very limited. Such conditions make it necessary that the fuse be removable from the internal contact With a minimum of holding action.

In the past one manner of attempting to meet such shortcomings in fuseholder design was to have the fuse engage the internal contact along the bottom of the fuse cap. Since most fuse caps are not dat-bottomed, and many are irregularly shaped at the bottom, and since the area of the bottom of the fuse cap in many instances is less than one-fourth the peripheral area of the fuse cap, a minimum of physical electrical contact is achieved or accomplished. To this end, it is an important feature of the present invention to provide a fuseholder wherein the contact between the fuse and internal contacts be over as great an area as possible and at the same time provide maximum pressure between the contacts and the fuse to insure greater and more favorable electrical Contact therebetween.

Another feature of the invention resides in the use of means, such as a wedge, positioned adjacent one of the contacts of the fuseholder to urge the fuse into intimate engagement with said contact.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the use of an internal contact so shaped that electrical Contact is effected along the side of the fuse with maximum pressure once the fuse is inserted in place, but will permit ready Withdrawal of the fuse with a minimum of pressure when it is desired to remove the fuse from the fuseholder.

The invention can best be understood from the following description of one embodiment of the preferred fuseholder shown in detail in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is an exploded view of the fuseholder, showing in enlarged detail the components of the device;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the fuseholder fully assembled;

Figure 3 is a view taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a view in perspective of the end contact and the wedge that urges the fuse into intimate engagement with the Contact.

Referring to the drawings, with particular reference to Figures 1 and 2, there is Shown the fuseholder designated generally at 11 and including in part a tubular body member 13 and a cap 15 both made of an insulating material. For ease in gripping and manipulating, the outer Surface of the cap 15 is fluted as shown in Figure l.

The body member 13 is provided at one end with a threaded portion 17 and a nut 19 threadable thereon which serve as a means for securing the fuseholder to any fuse panel, or the like. At the other end of the body member 13 there is provided a first contact member 21 terminating within the bore of the body member 13. While the exposed portion of the contact 21 is conventional, the configuration and functioning of that portion Within the bore are of prime importance and form an important feature of the present invention. The inner disposed portion of the contact member is shown in detail, in cross section, in Figure 3,' and in the perspective view in Figure 4. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the confined portion vof the contact member is substantially semi-circular in contour as shown at 23 and is further characterized by having an integrated portion of the contact member diametrically opposite to the arcuate portion 23 terminate in a wedge 25. The surface of the wedge facing the arcuate portion is so positioned that it lies at an angle of approximately 45 with respect to the longitudinal axis of the fuse 27, terminating in ferrules 29. While in the particular embodiment herein the wedge portion 25 is shown as being an integral part and extension of the arcuate portion 23, it is obvious that the wedge portion need not be a part of the contact. Accordingly, any discrete wedge of the same general contour as the wedge 25 can be utilized provided that it is so positioned relative to the arcuate contact member 21 that it serves to force the fuse into intimate engagement with the arcuate portion 23. A more detailed description of the manner in which the wedge-shaped portion serves to provide more effective contact between the ferrule 29 and the arcuate contact 23 will be described hereinafter. The other contact member of the fuseholder is shown at 31 and, as shown in Figure 2 the external portion is spaced slightly from the body member and substantially parallel thereto, while the inner portion is confined within the bore of the body member 13 and terminates in a substantially arcuate contact portion of substantially the same shape of contact 23 with the exception that no wedge portion is provided.

The other components of the fuseholder can be designated generally as the cap assembly since such components are integrally united within the cap 15, and as a unit is threadably engageable on body member 13 over thread 33. As shown in Figure 2, such assembly includes an internally threaded tubular washer 35 which is rigidly secured within the cap 15. The washer 35 is further provided with an internal seating flange 37 which serves as a limit stop for the forward thrust of a split sleeve 39, which floats in and is slidable within the washer 35. The sleeve 39y terminates at its bottom end in a liange 41 which abuts the flange 37 and urged into such abutment by means of longitudinally disposed spring 43, one end 3 of which rests on the bottom of the cap 15 While the other end engages a disk 45 which is urged against and contacts a plurality of inwardly disposed seating ridges 47 vformed by depressing peripheral portions of the body of the sleeve 39.

The split sleeve because of its yieldability will readily permit fuses of slightly varying diameter to be inserted therein. It is also readily apparent that fuses of varying lengths can also be accommodated made possible by the axial movement or displacement of the sleeve 39 within the washer 35.

When it is necessary to replace a defective fuse in the connector herein described, the replacement fuse is axially inserted into the body member, and the fuse is manually forced inwardly until the ferrule 29 engages the wedge portion 25. Slight additional pressure is applied which results in forcing the ferrule 29 of the fuse into intimate engagement with the contact portion 23 along substantially 180. It is thus readily apparent that as the cap 15 is threaded rightly over the body portion 13 the fuse will become securely locked in intimate engagement with the Contact over as great an area as possible and with maximum pressure. Where it is desired to withdraw the fuse from the holder, axial spring tension of the spring 43 is relaxed by unscrewing the cap 15. Upon such relaxation of the spring pressure and removal of the cap, the fuse can be readily and easily withdrawn.

While there has been herein described one specific embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that changes may be made to the structure described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An electrical connector comprising an insulating tubular body having a cavity adapted to receive a fuse Y tion toward the tirst contact.

2. A connector of the kind set forth in claim 1 wherein said first contact has a contour substantially semi-circular in cross section.

3. A connector of the kind set forth in claim 1 wherein said wedge is an integral part of the rst contact.

4. A connector of the kind set forth in claim l wherein the surface of said wedge is disposed at an angle of approximately 45 relative to the axis of the tubular body.

5. An electrical connector comprising an insulating body having a cavity adapted to receive a fuse therein, first and second electrical contacts which engage the terminals of said fuse, said first contact comprising an exposed portion and a portion confined in said body and having a contour substantially identical Yto Vthe contour of the fuse cavity over no more than one half of the inner periphery of said cavity, and a wedge diametrically opposite the confined portion of said first contact for urging one of the terminals of the fuse into intimate engagement with the first contact when the fuse is urged in the direction toward the first contact.

Middieton Jan. 16, 1940 2,207,837 saudi 1 July 16, 1940 2,448,389

Powell f Aug. 31, 1948 

